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The India National Cricket Team assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, has stepped down from the role after the England series and will rejoin his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) in a coaching role. He stepped down from the role after India’s dismal show in the England white-ball tour.
As per reports from Cricinfo, the former Dutch international has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his exit in the UK, where India lost both the T20 and ODI series 0-4 and 1-2, respectively. He is expected to join KKR in a new role; however, it will be interesting to see in which coaching role he joins his former franchise.
Ryan ten Doeschate set for KKR return?
Ryan ten Doeschate joined the Men in Blue side as an assistant coach when current head coach Gautam Gambhir started his stint as the head coach for the Men in Blue after Rahul Dravid left the team. He had dual roles in the squad, handling both the batting and fielding departments of the side.
The former Dutch skipper might join the former India batting coach, who currently works as the head coach of the Knights, Abhishek Nayar, as both have worked together for a brief period of time for the Men in Blue and, before that, had worked at KKR as assistant coaches under Gautam Gambhir in 2024.
Why Ryan ten Doeschate leave India's assistant coach role?
It was reported previously as well that Ryan ten Doeschate wants to leave the India National Cricket Team role due to his family; the Indian cricket team travels across the continents throughout the year, which allows the former cricketer to spend a limited amount of time with his family.
His wife is also an active professional based in London, as they both have three children, and due to this, Ryan wanted to spend more time with his family and also wants a role that has less travel. Thus, the KKR role is perfectly suited for him and his family, as IPL runs more than just a couple of months.
Ryan ten Doeschate's career as an assistant coach
Ryan ten Doeschate has a beautiful connection with KKR as he won two IPL titles (2012 and 2014) at KKR as a player and then returned to the Knights family as fielding coach in 2022. He worked under Brendon McCullum as the head coach.
Following that, he worked with Gambhir when he joined the franchise as a mentor in 2024 and won them their third IPL trophy in the same year. After that, as soon as Gambhir joined the Men in Blue squad, he was also taken into the coaching staff alongside Gauti.
While Ryan was the assistant coach of the Men in Blue side, they won the 2025 Asia Cup, 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, and also defended the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2026. However, in Tests, they had poor results at home, losing 0-3 and 0-2 to New Zealand and South Africa, respectively.
